PEOPLES PERCEPTION ON WORKING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM -A CASE STUDY OF KARIMNAGAR DISTRICTIN THE TELANGANA STATE OF INDIA

My study is intended to analyse how Peoples perception is very important because of the 73rd constitutional amendment act that was introduced to ensure political participation of underprivileged groups like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Women through the reservation of provisions in Panchayati Raj System at grassroots level democracy. In this context, the peoples perception of working of Panchayati Raj institutions in Karimnagar district plays a very crucial role to reveal the actual ground realities thereof and to what extent they accomplished the above-mentioned objectives. several policy initiatives have been taken for effective implementation of reservation policy in Panchayati Raj in the district. The present research work also focussed on the political backwardness of scheduled castes, scheduled Tribe leadership in Panchayati Raj Institutions at the Panchayati level. It also reveals peoples perception to the conscious understanding that people have of public functionaries and official issues in the society and realistically based on their understanding level in the given context on a particular aspect.

Elusive empowerment: characteristics of indirectly elected women chairpersons of district councils in Uttar Pradesh, India

The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India was introduced with a stated legislative intent of reserving not less than a third of seats for women in institutions of local self-government, the three-tier panchayati raj institutions. That amendment is considered a milestone in India’s project of empowerment of women. This paper evaluates the power and prestige of the post of an adhyaksha (chairperson) of a zila (district) panchayat (council) in general, and in particular the status of women elected to the post during 2016 in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Analysing the candidature, electoral success, electoral practices and subsequent functioning of zila panchayat adhyakshas (ZPAs), the authors argue that despite seats being reserved for women, no meaningful political empowerment of women has occurred in UP. The paper questions the efficacy of the indirect mode of election of ZPAs in bringing about empowerment of women, arguing that indirect elections enable powerful ruling elites to use women as proxies, subverting the legislative intent of the 73rd Amendment. The paper therefore proposes electoral reforms.

Three Decades of Working Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Issues and Challenges

Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are the cornerstone of local self government and it provides democratic platform for people's participation at various levels of governance in India. PRIs have been given constitutional status through 73rd Constitutional Amendment in 1992 to make democracy more functional at the local level and driven by citizens needs in addition to with their participation to ensure economic development, strengthen social justice and implementing Central as well as State government welfare schemes including those 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh schedule. In its present form and structure, the PRIs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands have completed three decades of existence and well entrenched with the rural life and have brought about major development in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, a lot remains to be done in order to further deepen decentralization and strengthen democracy at the grass root level in the absence of legislature at Union Territory level. Given the general conceptual implication, the present paper seeks to make an in-depth study of issues and challenges encounter by PRIs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in particular. Keywords: Governance, Participation, Gram Sabha, Zilla Parishad.

Attitude of Panchayat Leaders towards Panchayati Raj Institutions as Influenced by their Socio Personal Characteristics

Attitude is “a mental and neural state of readiness, organised through experience, and exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related”. While attitudes are basically learned over the years, some inherited characteristics do affect such attitudes. Our personal experiences with people and situations develop our attitude towards such persons and situations. During the implementation of the panchayati raj system Chhattisgarh has faced several opportunities and difficulties. The institutionalising panchayati raj. What, then, are the circumstances under which panchayat can improve the work effectiveness of their members through influences on individual choices about the level of effort and about strategy? The interview schedule was used as a tool for collecting the raw information from the panchayat leaders. In all 263 respondents from 9 janpads were interviewed personally to obtain the requisite data. It was found that majority of the janpad and jila panchayat leaders (58.73%) had moderately favourable attitude towards panchayati raj institutions. Majority of the janpad and jila panchayat leaders were middle-aged, belonged to other backward classes, most of them were educated up to higher secondary, they belonged to large size families with more than five members each and most of them had membership in one or more social organizations signifying high social participation.

On Panchayat: A Study of Decentralization in India and Policy Recommendation

This paper aims to study India’s decentralization process, which focuses on the Panchayat or the village government as a demonstration of success in India’s decentralization. This paper employs documentary research with a systemic review of relevant literature, articles, and documents on India's decentralization policy after independence up to the present (during 1947-2020). This paper found that India emphasizes people participation and decentralization, primarily through the Panchayat, which the constitution has authorized. The Indian government also established the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to facilitate the process of decentralization. The key success of India’s decentralization is related to its financial decentralization that allows the local government to collect tax and financial supports. This research also suggests five recommendations to increase the level of decentralization. First, decentralization must be written in a country’s constitution. Second, decentralization could effectively work with a unitary state with a federal feature. Third, the village is the foundation of decentralization. Fourth, the state should establish or form a ministry or another form of a government body to implement a policy of decentralization. Finally, decentralization must be political, administrative, and financial.

Democratic Decentralizaton and Socio-Political Inclusion of Marginalized Communities: A Study of Musahar Community in Madhubani District of Bihar, India

Democratic decentralization is the process of devolving the state’s roles and resources from the centre to the lower-level elected officials to encourage greater direct participation of people in governance. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1993), which gave the constitutional mandate to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in India, is considered as an opportunity for historically marginalized groups like women, Dalits (Scheduled Caste) and others to actively engage in the grassroot governance as members of local government institutions. Further, gram panchayats have been mandated for formulating their own annual development plan for economic development and social justice in their area. Although in these 25 years, since the enactment of the Act, various measures have been introduced through Panchayati Raj Institutions for increasing people’s participation and effective implementation of developmental programmes, but there is a little or no evidences—either the theoretical or the empirical, which can give a hint on its performance on social and political inclusion of marginalized communities. Against this backdrop, this empirical research paper attempts to explore the linkages between the democratic decentralization and socio-political inclusion of marginalized, by focussing on the Musahar community in Bihar state of India, using primary data collected from the field. The researchers argue that decentralization has ameliorated the social inclusion to some extent but shows very dismal rate of political inclusion of the Musahar Community.

Social Media Participatory Development Communication during COVID-19 by Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India

The advancement in technology has mandated many elected representatives to use social media for socio-political participation, participatory development and currently to create awareness about the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India is to develop local self-governments in districts, zones, and villages, with rural development being their main objective. Women's participation in the political arena was ensured, at the local self-government level by the historic 73rd and 74th amendments of the Indian constitution in the year 1992 by granting 33 percent reservation for women in the Indian rural governance processes. It heralded a new era in decentralized governance in India. The landmark amendment has allowed women to step out of their homes and participate in Gram Panchayats and other local institutional level meetings (Phukan, Kumar, and Majeed, 2018). Karnataka was a stellar example, being the first State in the country to implement the Panchayat Raj Act, which had mandated 25% reservation for women, in 1987, prior to the Amendments of 1992. As many as 14,000 women were elected in the first elections held in 1987 (Bageshree, 2009). Use of social networking sites has upgraded the methods and structures of political communication from traditional to digital (Darshan & Suresh, 2017). Local governments in India are increasingly using social media to keep citizens safe and informed while the nation works to flatten the curve of COVID-19. In this scenario, the social media usage by Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for participatory development, during the COVID-19 pandemic is explored. Keywords: Women, Politics, Social Media, Panchayati Raj, COVID-19

Constraints faced Panchayat Members in Relation to Agricultural Development Programs in Ujjain District (M.P.)

In india Panchayati Raj now functions as a system of governance in which Gram Panchayats are the basic units of local administration. The system has three levels: Gram Panchayat (village level), Mandal Parishad or Block Samiti or Panchayat Samiti (block level), and Zila Parishad (district level). Panchayat Raj has come to be related with two broad images. First, it is a government by itself and second it is an agency of the state government. In the integrated exercise of planning for social and economic development, co-ordinate roles, the present set up is a three-tier representative structure of government where the administrators, elected leaders and local population participate in the developmental effort. In this regard the members of Panchyat faced many problems there this study confront the constrains faced by members and suggestions to overcome them with 120 sample unit of Ujjain district. The major finding was obtained in this study that the most serious constraint perceived by the Gram Panchayat Members during agriculture development programmes was Insufficient use of communication media (85.83%) as it was perceived to the highest extent by gram Panchayat Members with major suggestion of them Properly and timely use of communication media.

CREATION OF PARALLEL BODIES DISEMPOWERING THE EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA

By bridging the gap between PRIs and parallel bodies across the country, this study will examine how the process of decentralisation is being actively considered by the Indian government as well as state governments. The multiple parallel bodies established by governments have resulted in the emergence of numerous parallel structures, undermining the panchayats. The proliferation of organisations has confused, as well as conflict and disempowerment of the Panchayats. The interface has become a key component of many state governments' agendas to assist make the multiple parallel entities more effective, sustainable, and PRIs-friendly. Accept that interlinkages will play a limited role and influence in the process of decentralisation and good governance unless the government takes decisive steps to devolve functions, funding, and officials to the PRIs, enabling decentralised planning and convergence. The higher authority would then have to disempower themselves to empower the PRIs. Devolution of power and authority from the State Government to the three-tiered PRIs could provide space and opportunity for more rigorous accountability measures. My article reflects on how many states are implementing programmes primarily through state bureaucracies, resulting in parallel structures, which is contrary to the spirit of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0875/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>